1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to the authentication of users needing access to commonly accessible data and users engaged in transactions completed over a computer network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The traditional method of limiting access to information has relied on a password mechanism. In order to access data in a common database or data that is accessed over a network, a user must be first identified and then authenticated. Identification has normally consisted of a user name and authentication was accomplished by a password known only to the user. The security of these prior-art password based mechanisms could easily be breached if the password was compromised in some manner. Passwords could be compromised by observing the user as the user entered the password. Password are even more vulnerable to compromise through monitoring of the computer network used to convey the password back to the information source.
Other prior art protection technologies included the use of digital certificates. As sophisticated and versatile as digital certificates are, they are commonly protected by simple passwords. Again, these passwords can be captured over the network or captured through keyboard sniffers. Once the password is compromised, a file-based certificate is vulnerable to theft through innumerable means. Stealing a user's certificate and the accompanying password allows imposters to read encrypted electronic mail, access private files and engage in monetary transaction over a computer network.
Passwords have also been used to protect automation accounts that are used to provide information or perform automated tasks. These “robot accounts” are routinely used to disseminate critical information to privileged employees and agents in large companies, governmental agencies and other institutions. As such, automation accounts must be protected from compromise at all costs. In the present day, password protection mechanisms fall intolerably short of the security levels modern institutions demand.
One technique that can enhance the security aspects of user authentication is the use of hardware tokens. Traditionally, a hardware token was little more than a glorified password mechanism. The hardware token contained a non-volatile certificate that was accessed by specialized hardware connected to a user's computer. When the user needed to authenticate her identity, the hardware token was coupled to the hardware reader, the computer read the certificate, and then passed that along to the source computer.
In known hardware-based token approaches, the certificate can be protected so long as the user's computer is trustworthy Authentication credentials could still be compromised if the token is attached to a machine with inadequate host-based security. Rogue processes can infiltrate the machine and compromise the credentials. One example of this type of process is the so-called “Trojan Horse”, a process that electronically mails the certificate to hundreds of users if the token is in an “unlocked” state.
Registering the hardware token is also a cumbersome task. In order to ensure the fidelity of the authentication credentials stored therein, the hardware token must be initialized by a central credential authority (CA) and then securely delivered to the user. Any other means, such as electronically delivering the certificates to the user or even postal delivery of the initialized hardware device are susceptible to compromise.
What is needed, then, is a digital certificate infrastructure that is easy to use, easy to administer and is impervious to network-based attacks such as Trojan horses and viruses. Obviously, use of a hardware-based token to store certificates provides inadequate security where host systems are not trustworthy. The digital certificate infrastructure must provide for a more resilient means not only to store the certificates, but a means to ensure security in uncontrolled environments. Finally, associating a hardware token and the certificate therein must be a distributed affair that does not rely on user specific token initialization and the inherent security risk of disseminating initialized tokens to the end users. Certificates must be initialized in an automated and encrypted manner that ensures secure identification of the user.